Space 1999: Vignettes
by Hope Meijer
Summary: She lifted her arms in supplication to the sky and tilted her face, eyes closing as the raindrops splashed onto her skin and slid down like tears of joy. It was a moment before Koenig could respond, so taken was he with the sight of her exposing a rare inner playfulness. [John/Helena, collection of vignettes from both series. Prompts are welcome and encouraged!]


_Author's Note: Please do read my notes at the end - I would love your input!_

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PAPERWORK

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The strange machines that were providing the moon with an atmosphere had only been around for a few days, but Koenig wished they could stay for a lot longer. Space could get very wearing and sometimes the simplest things were enough to change the mood in Alpha for the better. Hope was a powerful thing; breathable air and the ability to walk outside for the first time in a long while was enough to reinvigorate the Alphans and give them something tangible to hope for. The base was a downright pleasure to work in at the moment.

Even the usual staid characters such as Kano, some of his security men and Bob Mathias, had cracked a smile on more than one occasion. Koenig himself remained a little cynical. When something appeared too good to be true, it usually was. The downside was that so much paperwork was generated from every new situation - reports on activity, reports on discoveries, requisitions - and it was down to him to sign it all off, meaning very little of his time was actually his to do with as he pleased, and whilst the rest of the staff had adopted a 'work hard, play hard' balance, he could only watch them from the window units in his office and Main Mission.

A soft 'bleep' alerted him to a call on his commlock and he pressed the receive button to bring up Helena's smiling face. "Are you free for a moment?"

He found himself grinning in return. The mood was contagious and Helena hadn't been immune; he'd seen her smile more and had generally been happier and more at ease. "I'm just catching up on some paperwork that's been hanging around for a while, but I can always spare time for you."

She let out a soft laugh. "Meet me at airlock two." Then she was gone, and he stood, bemused. The airlock was only a short walk from Main Mission and the few people he passed on the way were ready with cheerful smiles and words of greeting. Helena stood in the decompression chamber, the inner door open, and as he approached she pushed the override button for the external door. It opened to reveal a cloudy sky, a curtain of rain as far as the eye could see turning the usually dry and dusty moon surface to mud.

"Have you even been outside yet?" She greeted him, beckoning him to follow her as she took the first step outside, oblivious to the dirt immediately coating her boots. He leaned against the heavy duty frame of the door, one eyebrow raised at her antics.

"Not yet, I've been taking the time to catch up on work."

"Well why not?" She lifted her arms in supplication to the sky and tilted her face, eyes closing as the raindrops splashed onto her skin and slid down like tears of joy. It was a moment before Koenig could respond, so taken was he with the sight of her exposing a rare inner playfulness.

"It may not last long. It could be taken away from us as quickly as it was given." He didn't want to voice those thoughts, hated to damper the enthusiasm, but he had to plan ahead. Cover all bases.

Helena turned back to face him, reaching out and grasping his hand. "All the more reason to enjoy it before it goes, then," she told him, and tugged him forwards. He put up a token resistance, but when she pulled him further out and over towards a small rocky outcrop he knew he would follow her anywhere.

"Helena, I'm on duty!"

She merely laughed, turning round and walking backwards until the rocks were higher than them, hiding them from view of the base. "So am I. _Live_ a little, Commander Koenig!"

The moment was one he'd treasure for a long time. Life on Alpha was hard, clinical and almost soulless, so people did what they could to make it easier. They threw parties, had concerts, used spare materials to create art to remind them of their cultures back on Earth, but still nothing compared to the feeling of fresh air and rain on their own 'turf' when they'd been denied it for so long. Koenig felt something inside of him ease as he stepped forward and gathered Helena into his arms, finally allowing himself to forget for a moment the weight and responsibility of leadership and just _feel_. Be human.

"When was the last time you were kissed in the rain, Doctor Russell?"

He was rewarded with a look of surprise and joy when she realised he was playing along, and her smile was bright and infectious as she slid her hands up his chest until they were wound round his neck. "Actually, never." She shrugged lightly.

The kiss was long and deep, neither knowing how long they stood there surrounded by the rain, the cold water seeping through their uniforms to their skin as they were held in each other's embrace. Only the need for air broke them apart and even then Koenig rested his forehead against Helena's, his usually tense features softened with emotion. She balanced him out, he realised. She gave him another point of view - not only a woman's perspective, but one from medical fact and sometimes a rational counterpoint taken from someone who could step back from the problem. She complemented him, understood him, but also reminded him to take time for himself and to stop being Commander Koenig and just be John once in a while.

So he did exactly that. He didn't let the fact he was still on duty and in command stop him from standing in the pouring rain, from kissing the woman he loved, from being John.

And when they ran back to base, closing the airlock and laughing breathlessly at themselves, their clothes soaked through, mud spattered up their boots and trousers and hair plastered to their heads, he didn't let that stop him from accepting the good-natured teasing from Alan and Victor as they passed, with merely a grin and a shake of the head. Helena gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and a whispered promise before departing to her quarters, and he realised he needed to change too before he returned to his office.

The prospect of paperwork was a little easier now.

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 _Author's Note: This will be marked as complete but is intended to be a collection of vignettes, so will be added to as and when I get inspiration. If you'd like notifications whenever I update, please click 'follow story'! I would also love to hear from you guys whilst I'm on a roll, so if you have a prompt (single word, episode missing scene or tag, or just a scene in general you'd like to see), please either comment it in your review or IM me if you're logged in (don't forget to leave your name if you review as a guest!)._


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